Life's Too Short
by Mickey Sixx
Summary: [MacDanny Slash] This is one crime scene Danny Messer will never forget....


**Disclaimer:** I don't own then, I'm just playing with them...

**Title:** Life's Too Short...  
**Pairing:** Mac/Danny  
**Warnings:** Character death, Slash

**AN:** My first CSI:NY slash fic, so pleasebe gentle. Please Review at the end, I like reviews...

**Life's Too Short**

The shots vibrated through the air, the ripples of sound almost visible as the bullet cut through. Danny pulled his gun, his body on full alert, crouching down and looking around for the shooter. The heavy thud was to his right, and Danny only meant to glance at whatever it was before returning his attention back to the shooting. Only, it didn't happen that way.

Danny's eyes were transfixed by the sight of his long time work partner and big sister, Aiden Burn, lying on the floor. He was there in a flash, on his knees by her side, grabbing her hand and squeezing it.

"Aiden? Aiden, hang on, honey, please hang on," he said, his voice cracking with emotion. She laid there, her white shirt now stained with crimson blood, her shaking hand covering the chest wound in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. Her breathing was quick and jerky, her eyes wide in shock and fear, the beautiful brown irises calling out to him to hold her and make it all better.

"It's going to be ok," he said, tears now falling freely down his face, "You're going to be ok, Aid,"

He watched as the woman he considered a sister shook her head slowly, her mouth trying to move to talk to him.

"N-no, it w-wont," she stuttered, tears now also falling down her cheeks. Danny licked his lips, trying to stop himself from braking out into full blown sobs. He looked around, he saw people stood around them, trying to see what was happening. He half heard a woman telling him that the paramedics had been called, but he wasn't paying attention to her.

"Yes it will, Aid," trying to convince himself more than the woman before him, "Yes it will."

But she shook her head again, "No, D-Danny, I w-wont." She gasped her breathing starting to get laboured with every breath she took.

"Listen t-to me, Danny," she began, "D-don't let him s-slip away f-from you. Life is t-too short to let this p-pass you b-by."

Danny listened to her words, the tears never stopping and his head constantly shaking in denial. He knew exactly who she was talking about, but he believed that she wouldn't need to say it now. She had plenty of time left, right? Her face screwed up in pain, and her eyes opened, looking through his and straight into his soul.

"I love you," she whispered, "Never forget me,"

Her body relaxed, her breathing stopped. Danny stared at her, his face blank and his tears falling down his face. He shook her lightly, calling her name, over and over again.

A warm hand touched his shoulder, and Danny tore his eyes away from Aiden's body and looked up towards the person above him. Mac stood before him, his usually impassive brown eyes full of sadness and regret, and Danny just looked.

"Let me take you home, Danny," he said, and Danny didn't resist. He turned back to Aiden, her body rapidly cooling in the New York air. He felt Mac pull him up to his feet, watching in a strange kind of detachment as her lifeless hand fell from his and hit the hard ground. He was pulled away from the scene and towards the black BMW parked on the side of the street. Danny distantly thought that Mac shouldn't be there. Stella had forced him to take the day off since he had not left the office in four days.

Danny had wanted to ask why he was there, but he couldn't. His body didn't obey him. He wanted to turn and run back to Aiden and try and revive her again, but he couldn't. All he could do was follow Mac to the car, his body on auto pilot. His mind told his body to sit in the passenger side of the car and buckle up. Mac slid into the other seat and started the car, and then they were off down the street, leaving Aiden behind them.

"_Don't let him slip away from you, Danny. Life is too short to let this pass you by…"_

Aiden's words echoed in his ears. Of course, he knew what she was on about. His eyes slid to his left, and he watched Mac out the corner of his eye. His body was taut, the sadness now mixed with anger in his eyes and body language. He sighed inwardly and moved his eyes back to the road.

Aiden was the only one who knew the truth. He loved Mac Taylor. He didn't know when it happened, or indeed, _how_ it happened, but in the three years he'd been working as a CSI he had fallen in love with Mac Taylor. Every case he worked with the other man made him realise how complex the man is. He very rarely showed his emotions, preferring to stay detached from all situations. Sometimes that would infuriate Danny so much that he very nearly stormed into his office and shook the man silly. Aiden was the one to stop him and calm him down and listen to him that night when he talked to her about him. She was always there for him, like the sister he never had.

When Tanglewood went down she was the one who he told about the whole fiasco. He opened himself to her, and she to him. They trusted each other with things that no other person except themselves knew.

And now she was gone.

Dead.

Forever.

He felt his arm being shaken softly, and he turned his head to see Mac looking at him, a frown on his face and concern in his eyes.

"You're home, Danny," he said. Danny nodded slightly, and unclipped the seatbelt. He opened the door, turned, and slid out of the car, pushing the door shut after him. As if in a dream, he made his way through the doors on the ground floor and started the trek up the stairs to his apartment. Once there he grabbed his keys from his pocket and slid them automatically into the lock. He walked into the flat without closing the door, walking into the living room and just stood there.

Mac, who had followed him out of worry for the younger male, closed the door quietly and watched the man stand in the room. Although he would never show it, it broke his heart to see the vacant expression on the young mans face and the empty look in his clear blue eyes. The only movement he was making was the slow clenching of his fists. Mac frowned, and stared as his hands balled into, his knuckles going white and his hands shaking with the force.

And then, all of a sudden, he moved from his stationary position, grabbing the coffee table by his legs and flipping it over in a fit of rage. Mac jumped slightly, not prepared for this display to come from this man. But that wasn't it. Next to go was the stuff off the shelves, ornaments and photo frames and glass shattering all around him, Danny's grunt of fury as he knocked everything flying. Mac knew he had to step in.

Danny screamed in rage as Mac hauled him back, grabbing him around his waist and physically having to restrain him from hurting himself. Danny fought hard against the hold, so hard that he knew that Mac would be covered in bruises tomorrow, but Mac wouldn't let go. Danny got so frustrated that he just collapsed onto his knees, tears now pouring down his face. Mac fell down with him, still holding the now sobbing man in his arms. He slid his hand through the blonde mass of hair in front of him, and laid his cheek across it, rocking the man back and forth.

"Shhh….easy, Danny, easy..." he whispered, surprised as his own actions. He was not a comforting type of guy, but he couldn't ignore this one. He couldn't sit there and let Danny go through this alone. For the truth was that Danny Messer had a tight hold of Mac's heart, and he wasn't about to let go any time soon.

It took a while for Danny to calm down, so long that Mac couldn't actually feel his feet anymore, but that wasn't important at the moment.

"You ok?" he asked, his voice quiet in Danny's ear. Danny took a shuddery breath, and shook his head slightly.

"No," he answered, his voice more husky than usual. Silence followed his statement.

"We should get up," Mac said, but neither man moved.

"I love you," Danny said into the silent room. Mac blinked a few times, making sure he breathed in and out. He wasn't sure he heard what he thought he heard.

"What?" he whispered, his voice lost.

"I love you," the blonde repeated. "I've loved you for a while now; I just never had the courage to tell you."

Mac stared at the side of his face, "Why now?"

Danny turned and stared into the soulful brown eyes, "Because my best friend died today, and it could have been me." Mac's grip had loosened, and he shifted around so he was face to face with the other man. He placed both palms on his face and stared at him.

"It could have been me, Mac, lying on the ground with a bullet in my chest," Mac closed his eyes and looked away, trying to rid himself of the image Danny had conjured up, but Danny forced him to face him back again, "It could have been me, and I would have never had the chance to tell you how much I love you."

"I can understand if you don't feel the same way," the blonde continued, "I know you are still mourning Claire, and I respect that, I really do, but I couldn't let you go without telling you."

Mac was stunned into silence. There were so many things running around in his brain that he wanted to say to the man in front of him, but no words would leave his mouth. Danny took the silence the wrong way, and sighed, his hands sliding from Mac's face into his own lap.

"I guess that's my answer, huh?" he said quietly, more to himself than anyone else. He sighed and looked up, but not at Mac. In fact, he was looking anywhere _but_ Mac.

"I'll understand if you want to leave," Danny said, staring intently at the floor.

And suddenly Mac got it. Danny had wanted to tell him for a long time, but he couldn't, because he had never given any sign of interest in Danny, and this had lead the blonde to believe that he didn't love him back. It also told him that Danny was just as scared as he was when it came to love.

Mac was still for a few more seconds, before he did actually get up off the ground. The feeling painfully returned to his feet, but he didn't show it. Danny's eyes were still fixed on the floor, and looked like they were about to spill tears again. Mac held his hand out in front of him, an offer to the blonde. Danny looked at it for a few minuets, and then followed the arm up to the face of the man before him. The soft smile was enough to tell him that Mac was serious. Danny looked at him, and then back to the hand, and slowly, shyly, he slid his own into it.

Mac pulled him up from the floor and stared at him, before leaning forward and catching the other's lips in a soft kiss. Mac could taste the salt from his earlier tears on Danny's lips, and he felt Danny's hand slide up into his hair when he slid his tongue along his bottom lip, demanding entrance into the hot mouth. Danny moaned and granted permission for Mac's tongue to enter his mouth. They kissed like that for long minutes before Mac pulled away, giving a last nip to Danny's lip and looking up into sparkling blue eyes.

Mac pulled on his hand and walked towards the small hallway, and into the bedroom. Danny followed him to the bed, and watched as Mac let go of his hand and sat down, looking up at Danny. Danny stared at him for a moment, struggling to comprehend that Mac was _actually_ on his bed, and that he had _actually_ kissed him. Mac turned and stretched out on the bed, opening his arms out to Danny in invitation. Danny only took a second to hesitate before slipping off his shoes and glasses and sliding into the man's arms, snuggling his head under his chin.

"Sleep," Mac said, stroking the blonde hair, "I'm not going anywhere,"

Silence filled the room, and Mac smiled as he too started to go sleepy. He felt Danny's hold on him tighten, and he returned it with a squeeze of his own.

"Thank you," Danny whispered, before sliding into sleep.

Mac's smile grew, and he followed the younger man into peaceful sleep.

-x-

Danny's eyes slid open, and he stared at the window opposite him. He could see the stars twinkling outside, and realised that he hadn't shut the curtains. Something shifted beneath him, and Danny quickly looked down to see what it was. He saw Mac's body lying beneath him, his arms still wrapped around him. Danny smiled, and then the smile fell from his lips as he remembered what had happened.

"Don't be sad,"

Danny jumped, and he looked around the room wildly. His eyes caught a figure standing in the corner of the room, hidden in the shadows. Danny peered into the darkness, but he couldn't identify them.

"Who are you? And why are you here?" he said, his breathing starting to quicken. The figure laughed a little and stepped forward.

"Hello Danny,"

Danny's eyes widened and his jaw fell slack. A woman had stepped forward; long brown hair fell to her shoulders in waves, dark chocolate eyes smiled at him, olive tanned skin shimmer slightly. She was wearing the same white shirt and black pinstripe trousers as yesterday.

"Aiden," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. The woman nodded, the smile still playing about her lips.

"B-but how?"

She shook her head at him and moved towards the bed, sitting down on the edge of it. Danny's eyes never left her, and they stared at each other once she had sat down. Neither knew which once had moved first, but they found themselves in a fierce embrace. Silent tears fell down Danny's cheeks and he took a deep breath, taking in Aiden's scent again.

"Why did you leave me, Aid? Why?" he whispered. Aiden hugged him a little tighter, if that was possible, and rocked him slightly, but didn't give him an answer. They stayed like that for a good few minutes, before Aiden slowly pulled back, framing Danny's face with her hands, wiping the tears from his cheeks. Her eyes slid over to the other body asleep on the bed, and she smiled softly again.

"I see you took my advice," she said. Danny turned his head and looked at Mac. His face was peaceful in sleep, the worry lines on his forehead smoothed out completely. Danny put his hand lightly on his chest, feel it rise and fall slowly with his slow breathing. He nodded.

"How could I not?" the blonde said, looking back Aiden.

"I don't want you to be sad, Danny," she said, looking him in the eye, "Mourn my death, but do not mourn my life. I want you to look back on the four years we had and smile and laugh at all the memories you have of me."

Danny nodded, tears again falling down his cheeks. She wiped them away with her thumb and leaned forward, kissing his forehead softly.

"I Love you, Danny, my brother," she said before standing up. Danny looked up at her as Aiden looked down at him.

"I Love you, Aiden, my sister,"

She placed her warm hand over his forehead and said something that Danny couldn't hear. The last thing he saw was Aiden's beautiful smile before falling into nothingness.

-x-

The first thing Mac saw when he opened his eyes was the ceiling, and then he realised that it wasn't his ceiling. He frowned slightly, and looked down, only to find the body of one Danny Messer snuggled into his arms. He smiled at him, but something compelled him to look over to the corner of the room. He saw Aiden smiling at him, looking over both of them with a loving smile.

"Take care of him," she said. Mac nodded at her, and looked back to Danny.

"I will," he promised, before he too slipped back into his slumber.

-x-

Danny awoke to find Mac staring at him. He was frowning slightly, a worried look in his eyes.

"What?" Danny whispered, afraid to break the peaceful stillness of the room.

"You were crying," he said softly back. Danny frowned and brought a hand up to his cheek, his fingers coming away wet.

And then he remembered why. He had seen her. He had seen Aiden, standing in his room, looking as if she were alive.

"I saw her." Danny said, shocked at how weak his voice was. Mac stared at him, before pulling the man back into his arms and cuddling him close to his body.

"I know, Danny, I know..."

They stayed like that for a long time before Danny pulled back from the embrace to stare into Mac's eyes.

"Promise me that you won't leave me," he whispered slow low that Mac had nearly missed it. The older man smiled and him and leaned forward to kiss his lips.

"I won't leave you, Danny," he said, his lips a centimetre away form the blondes, "I promise," he whispered.

The slow smile that spread across Danny's lips was the most beautiful thing that Mac had ever witnessed.


End file.
